A renowned live music venue has built a £60,000 amphitheatre as it continues to expand.

The owner of Northfleet-based Leo’s Red Lion, Terry Lee, drew up the plans for a second outside stage years ago but was forced to postpone the build during the pandemic.

He said: “We have always used the outside but some of our gigs and festivals are so successful, we needed the extra stage.

“I had the drawings and design for an amphitheatre but Covid came along and we had to shelve it.

“We have now decided to get the plans out and give it a go.”

Terry alongside son Aaron Lee and partner Natalie Liquorish has been working on the amphitheatre for around a year, building seating, a stage, a mixing booth, a bar, a grill shack and a patio area.

It will seat 120 people but can host 300 people including the standing and terrace areas and bring the venue’s stage count up to four.

Aaron said: “We just feel this is the biggest thing to happen in a Kent music venue in years. It is one of the only ones in the county.

“People often say the scene is dead but I think to think this place is living proof that is not true.

“The difference is, other pubs put on music but people are coming here specifically for the music or to watch a band.

“Places like this are very important as there are less and less about now. There seem to be a lot fewer music venues around.

“It is more than a pub. This is the only place for an event in Gravesend.

“We are always looking to make improvements and how it can be better.

Terry started working at Leo’s Red Lion in 1977 while has was a promoter at the Woodville Halls and began booking bands to play there the following year.

He eventually bought the Crete Hall Road pub off the brewery in 1984 and it has since become a household name on the live music scene.

It has provided bands, both large and small, with a forum to showcase their talent, in particular metal and heavy rock bands, for decades.

One of the most famous groups to have performed is Iron Maiden who in the mid-1980s played there as part of their world tour under the name The Sherman Tanks to avoid a mass frenzy.

In 2023, legendary bassist Steve Harris visited to watch rock band Stray’s gig, leaving music fans starstruck.

When the Cable Wharf housing development was built opposite the venue, the 73-year-old said he was offered a “phenomenal” amount of money to sell but declined.

He said: “It is far too important as a live music venue for it to have been knocked down and turned into flats. It is almost a protected live music venue.

“We are very lucky. You cannot get more of a community pub, without a doubt we have a community here.”

The amphitheatre will host its first gig, Pink Floyd tribute band JustFloyd, on Saturday, March 29. You can find out here.

Leo’s Red Lion not only hosts live music but also has a boxing club and football and darts teams.